52" front spring swap, is it worth it?

[JSSLUSMC]

I have been thinking about doing a 52” front spring swap on my 72 but I haven’t been able to find out just how much flex it will give me. can anyone help me out? does anyone have some before and after pictures? thank you.

[70 beast]

I Did this swap and I highly recommend it if your looking for flex and on the some-what cheep.

Try searching the forum, I know Im not the only one that has done the swap.
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[snj8198]

Originally Posted by JSSLUSMC

I have been thinking about doing a 52” front spring swap on my 72 but I haven’t been able to find out just how much flex it will give me. can anyone help me out? does anyone have some before and after pictures? thank you.

Welcome to the board. Tell us a bit about yourself and your vehicle. What are your plans and uses for your rig? Pics are nice too if possible!

[JSSLUSMC]

Originally Posted by snj8198

Welcome to the board. Tell us a bit about yourself and your vehicle. What are your plans and uses for your rig? Pics are nice too if possible!

Thank you. I am not sure what to say about myself. I am a Marine stationed in Yuma, az. Currently deployed to Afghanistan so the plans I have for my truck are on hold. My truck is a 72 k20 with a 4” lift on 35s. 350 engine and th350 trans, 205 transfer case. As far as my plans for the truck I have a whole list of things I would like to do but, most of them will have to wait. When I return from this deployment I will be doing a shackle flip In the rear. 52” springs in the front, crossover steering. I am going to swap out the old 10 bolt with a FF 14 bolt then do the disk brake conversion. My goal is to get at least 8” of lift so I will clear 37s. I have a 400+ HP 383 stroker sitting in my garage waiting to go into the truck. I will post some pics when I get back to the states.

[JSSLUSMC]

I did a search like 70 BEAST suggested and I came up with some more questions. will the 52 in springs move my front axle forward like it does on the square body chevys? is there any benefit from this? By the way, thank you 70 BEAST. I found a lot of good info but no info on this subject.

[snj8198]

ya the 52's will put your axle forward by 1" IIRC. Some use zero rates to move the axle back to center in the well. They are fairly cheap and will give you another inch of lift.

-steve

[JSSLUSMC]

thank you Steve. do you know if there is any benefit from leaving it forward an inch?

[snj8198]

I don't know of any benefits per say but you will have tire clearance issues with the fender cups.

[mud slut 350]

Sounds like your planning on doing the same thing im doing with mine. Ive already got the 14bff and d60 front swapped in a sm465 4 spd with a np 205 and got the crossover steering. Im in Afghan also and am planning on doing the 52 swap when i get home. Through the reaserch ive done a few people were saying moving the axle foreward a little bit is good because usually fender rubs happen on the back of the fender like mine always did with 35s on it. check out diy4x.com they have a hanger setup thatll make things a little easier possibly. There is also a video of a guy with a k5 on youtube installing the front hanger from diy4x and doing the 52 swap. Im not sure what the title is of the video youtube dont work where im at but i think i searched diy4x or 52 swap. because the 52 swap gives about 4 inches if you use a stock height spring for mine im planning on using a 4" lift 52 with sky-manufacturings front spring hanger drop kit for another 4" and hopefully be a total of 12" then for the rear do the shackle flip and 8" springs. hope some of this info helps let me know how it all goes and post pics.

[70 beast]

Originally Posted by JSSLUSMC

I did a search like 70 BEAST suggested and I came up with some more questions. will the 52 in springs move my front axle forward like it does on the square body chevys? is there any benefit from this? By the way, thank you 70 BEAST. I found a lot of good info but no info on this subject.

Not a problem. I know theres alot of info and having a place to go to ask questions always comes in handy.

As far as moving the front axle foward, like everything, has pros/cons. I did it mainly to help prevent my tire from contacting my firewall. So as my leaf spring compresses, it flattens out centered into the wheel-well.

As for lift amount, Im running stock 52s, a modified front hanger with diy4x multi spot hanger, stock rear hanger position with a 6-7" shackle, and trimming on the front fender fang. All that clears 38s with no problem.
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[ncgamedog]

Originally Posted by JSSLUSMC

I have been thinking about doing a 52” front spring swap on my 72 but I haven’t been able to find out just how much flex it will give me. can anyone help me out? does anyone have some before and after pictures? thank you.

This thread is on the first page, right under the one you started about the exact same topic, basically. Sometimes the search begins at the end of your nose. Not to mention it says "I'm new here..." right in the title, that should ring a bell, ding ding "Hey I'm new here too, wonder if there is something in this thread I might be interested in?" lol just givin ya shi! man hope the link helps

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=487598

[lukefalls]

Here is the link to my build on Pirate. It has before, with 52s, and after with 3 link. Its a long thread, but the photos are in there

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...slow+gmc+build

[JSSLUSMC]

I spent a couple days building my own spring hangers. it was easier then i thought it would be. The hangers turned out to be about 1/16th of an inch different.

[JSSLUSMC]

Here are some pics of the spring hangers. i am going for a total of 8" of lift so i used 4" Tough Country springs for blazer. the only problem i had was finding the correct bushings. I used Daystar M02153 bushings to complete spring conversion.

[snj8198]

hey that turned out alright! congrats.

[Average Joe]

Nice work!

[modblacksmith]

Looks good, convinced me to do the swap to mine, ordered the buckets yesturday.